I am focusing on the comparisons between both Baz Luhrman and Franco Zeferelli's films of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I will be comparing how both the directors present the opening scene of the play in their movies.

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Introduction

COMPARE THE WAY ZEFFERELLI AND LUHRMAN PRESENT THE OPENING SCENE OF "ROMEO AND JULIET" TO THE AUDIENCE I am focusing on the comparisons between both Baz Luhrman and Franco Zeferelli's films of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I will be comparing how both the directors present the opening scene of the play in their movies. The Zeferelli version of Romeo and Juliet was set in the 1960s. It has the more traditional approach to a Shakespeare text. The film is aimed at existing admirers of Shakespeare's work, basically an older target audience. The actors in the film are white and have English accents. It is obvious that the film was set in Elizabethan because of the costumes and the surroundings. On the other hand Baz Luhrman's version is aimed at a younger audience. The film is The Zefferelli version of "Romeo and Juliet" was made in the 1960s; it is the older version of the two. ...read more.

Middle

The prologue is presented to us in a very classical English accent. This tells the audience what they are about to see later on in the story. Next up we see a very crowded and noisy market place. The camera focuses on two rowdy men who are dressed in red and yellow. The audience will associate the colours that they are wearing with that of jokers. The two men are laughing and making jokes about women from a rival family, the Capulets therefore it is obvious that they are Montagues. Zeferelli creates an effect of a "real" market place when people walk right in front of the camera. When the Capulets show up they are very different to the Montagues. The audience would notice this in comparison to the clothes that the other people of the market place are wearing. They are dressed in Black and gold, symbolising danger and wealth. Soon Tybalt Capulet moves into the picture, the camera move very slowly from his feet up to his face then we see a close up shot of his face. ...read more.

Conclusion

For example we may think of the Montagues as jokers because of their bright clothes (yellow, green pink coloured). The fight takes place at a petrol or gas station instead of the market place like in Zeferelli's. The Capulets arrive dressed in black and gold and are lead by Tybalt. He comes across as fearless and powerful. When the camera shows his boots we associate them as cowboy boots from a western movie. Then this idea is confirmed by western music played in the background. The camera moves into a close up shot of his face. The Capulets seem the most dangerous of the families; they have slicked back hair, wear leather and carry guns. There are both similarities and differences between the two director's versions. Zeferelli stays much closer to Shakespeare's classical style using the dusty streets of Verona for the set. Luhrman's is a modern version, which uses images and music from modern and pop culture. Both films are similar in the way that they convey the characters' personalities in the same way as the play. Emmet Murphy GCSE 2002 ...read more.

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